Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations

Fonts

• Select a single sans-serif fonts such as Arial or Helvetica. Avoid serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Palatino because these fonts are sometimes more difficult to read.
• Use the same font for all your headlines
• Use bold and different sizes of those fonts for captions and subheadings.
• Use larger fonts to indicate importance.
• Avoid long sentences.
• Avoid italicized fonts as these are difficult to read quickly.
• Use dark text on light background or light text on dark background. However, dark backgrounds sometimes make it difficult for some people to read the text.
• Do not use all caps except for titles.
•  To test the font, stand six feet from the monitor and see if you can read the slide

Design and Graphical Images

• Use design templates.
• Standardize position, colors, and styles.
• Too may slides can lose your audience.
• Use one or two large images rather than several small images.
• Make images all the same size.
• Avoid flashy images and noisy animation effects unless it relates directly to the slide.
• Limit the number of graphical images on each slide.
• Use only enough text when using charts or graphical images to explain the chart or graph and clearly label the image.

Colour

• Limit the number of colours on a single screen.
• Bright colors make small objects and thin lines stand out. However, some vibrant colors are difficult to read when projected.
• Use no more than four colors on one chart.

General Presentations

• Plan carefully.
• Make your research.
• Speak comfortably and clearly.
• Check the spelling and grammar.
• Do not read the presentation. Practice the presentation so you can speak from bullet points.
• If the content is complex, print the slides so the audience can take notes
• If sound effects are used, wait until the sound has finished to speak.
• Do not turn your back on the audience. Try to position the monitor so you can speak from it.